Happily Ever
by Dragon's Lover1
Summary: Before their happily ever after can fully begin, Shrek and Fiona are petitioned by another princess, to help her make her own fairy tale ending -- or to help her survive her story. In progress. . .
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shrek or any of its affiliations, products, or so on. Just a couple copies of the movies. Meow.

**Happily Ever**

_Prologue_

". . .You're sure, madam?"

"Yes. Your future is not in the hands of yourself, but that of your True Love." The woman reading the fortune laid out another card. "There will be great troubles for you on this path."

Receiving the fortune was a woman in a cloak, her eyes wide and childlike as she gazed at the cards. "Can you tell me. . . What is my fairy tale?" she asked.

The old woman snatched up the cards and shuffled before putting them away. "Let me see your hand, princess."

Slowly, the young lady extended her hand, and winced when the old woman grabbed it and held a little too tightly. She looked over the princess' palm, nodding to herself. At length she let go and opened a box beside her. She pulled out a few items, placing them on the table, and the princess stared at them. One of them was a tiny crystal ball, another seemed to be a beast's hand, and several small finger-sized bones.

"I have found it," the gypsy said suddenly, pulling out a small box and opening it. She showed it to the princess, who found herself gazing intently at the contents.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A pendant, for you," the gypsy answered. She closed the box and handed it to the princess. "Your mother entrusted this to me the same day you were born, and now you must have it. Understand that not you, but your True Love, will know how to open the locket. And only then will you be freed from your Fairy Tale, to live as you would choose."

"Then. . . Am I trapped in my own story?" she asked, panicking a little.

"Yes. Now go, princess. With handing this over, your story has begun, and you must prepare."

The princess stood with a grateful nod and stepped out. It wasn't until she was out of the wagon that she thought to turn around and ask, "Prepare for what, madam?"

The wagon was gone, and on the ground where it once was lay a single scrap of paper. Kneeling down, she picked it up and read, "Prepare for your abduction. As it was written, it will be; until the end, you cannot be free. This tale will be little fun; your first step is to run."

She shivered. It seemed like such a bad omen, to hear nothing of her story except that her True Love is the only one who could end it. "I don't understand," she said to herself, and whistled for her horse. The large Clydesdale stepped up to her and knelt to allow her to climb on his saddle. "Do you understand, Smithy?" she asked him.

He neighed and shook his head before she pulled his reigns to start his walk. She thought over the paper, in her hand still, and looked down at it. As though waiting for the moment she looked away, it had written on it more words than before, and she read those with rising dread.

"You did not obey fast enough; the next few days will be rough. Beware the eyes in the dark; beware the form that lurks. Someone dangerous as a bear; sees her life as unfair. Do not look back or above; speed away to your True Love."

The princess cried out when the paper lit on fire and tossed it away from her, deciding that she'd waited longer than she'd been meant to. She moved to sit properly on Smithy and kicked him into motion, hoping whatever feeling of dread she had at the back of her neck wouldn't last.

A red hawk soared overhead the fleeing princess, one eye glittering green, the other a pale grey. It followed her from a distance, keeping itself hidden and unknown. It watched as the night began to lighten as dawn approached and the princess continued her ride back to her palace. At length, as the sun was almost to peek above the horizon, it perched on a low branch and waited.

Once the sunlight touched it, it spread its wings and dropped from the branch to the forest floor, fully encompassing itself in the dawn's light. All at once it glowed an unearthly, unpleasant slate color and in a second's time had become a human figure.

The person was hunched over, their face hidden in tightly wrapped bandages and form covered in a tattered cloak and hood. The only thing discernable about this person was its eyes -- one green, the other grey.

Breathing in a shaky wheeze, the person pulled a walking stick out of the air and began a struggled walk in the direction of the princess' escape. "One day," the scratchy voice croaked, "soon, I will be you," it promised the princess. Taking wobbly limps down the road, the figure ignored all wagons and horses as fiercely as they avoided it.

It walked long into the day, stopping only when it reached the edges of the princess' home, unwilling to take a single step onto the grounds of the town outlying the palace. It stayed there, stalking, waiting, knowing that at some point, the princess would have to venture out once more. She would, of course, to find her prince and True Love.

In the creature's bandaged hands, it held a worn book, and sat down painfully to flip open the cover and find the page it was looking for. "Here," it said, confirming its suspicions. " 'The Princess, knowing her True Love would never come to her, set off to find him. But she did not know the dangers lurking outside her walls, and ventured into the claws of evil.' " The voice cackled in agreement and continued to read, flipping through the pages. ". . . 'And some time later, a warrior joined with the Princess, to protect her from that which threatened her. Sadly, the warrior alone was not enough.' "

Snapping the book shut, the figure put it safely away within the cloak once more, watching as the sun set painstakingly slowly. It did not like its human form for how frail it was, and much preferred nighttime, when its wings could easily carry it every night ten times the length it could travel in one day. And once the sun was gone completely, no longer touching the creature in the least, it became that hawk and took to the skies once more.

There it waited, circling the palace from far above, for the princess to make her journey.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shrek or any of its affiliations, products, or so on. Just a couple copies of the movies. Meow.

**Happily Ever**

_Chapter One_

"Not fair!" a tiny green ogre girl yelled at her two brothers. "Mommy said you're not allowed to leave me behind!"

Her bald brother turned around and stuck his tongue out. "Daddy said if you can't keep up, that's your fault!"

"No he didn't!" she yelled back, indignant. "And Mommy said that if you keep leaving me behind, I get to use my fists to keep up!"

"She wouldn't say that," the red-haired brother stated, standing on a rock overlooking the swamp and tree stump where they all lived. His hair was short and fluffy, and he crossed his arms at his brother and sister's arguing. "And Daddy said no more arguing!"

"Go play with Donkey," the bald boy said to his sister, perhaps a little too harshly.

She began to tear. "I can play with you two if I want!"

"Randy, Sarah," the elder brother chided. "Stop arguing. Sarah, we never said you couldn't play with us," he tried to reason.

"I never wanted her to come!" Randy, the bald boy, stated.

Ignoring Randy, Sarah looked up at her other brother. "Really, Dustin?"

"Really really," he replied, grinning. "Puss should already be there waiting for us."

Randy made a face. "We're too old for babysitters," he grumbled.

"Puss is fun," Sarah argued back. "I like him." She posed the way Puss tended to, imaginary sword drawn, and giggled. "He's always making us laugh."

"And we're not too old," Dustin told them both. "We're five; Mommy says we have to be careful anyway. Humans don't like ogres too much."

At that, Sarah pouted. "How come humans don't like us?"

"They're stupid," Randy answered her, making another face.

"Daddy says it's cause they're scared of us," Dustin replied while giving Randy a "be quiet" kind of look. "He says as long as we don't judge them without knowing them, they won't judge _us_."

"What's 'judge' mean?" Sarah asked, and the three of them began walking out into the forest, side by side.

"I think it means to make others less important," Randy tried to answer.

"That's not it," Dustin told him. "It means, um. . . To. . . To be afraid of. . ?"

Sarah shook her head, her longish auburn locks swishing back and forth. "That doesn't sound right."

"We could ask Mommy," he suggested.

"Mommy knows everything, right?" Randy said.

"I think so," Sarah agreed.

"Hello."

The three children jumped back and looked up at the voice that spoke to them. They saw what appeared to be a centaur, with the body of a horse but the top half more of a human's shape -- but with the sun behind it, they couldn't tell for sure. Sarah latched onto both her brothers and the three of them took steps back. Dustin particularly tried not to be scared, as the voice had been a soft one, and walked to the side a little so the sun moved out of the way.

There was a human on a horse's back, he realized, but the human looked spooky. It was wearing a long cloak, draping over the horse's rump, and a hood that covered half the person's face. Their eyes were barely visible.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Is alright," a Spanish voice told them. Puss hopped from behind the human to onto the horse's head. "I found this beauty coming this way and asked her about her being here. She is looking for your parents," he told the triplets.

Sarah met Randy's gaze before the both of them looked over at Dustin questioningly.

"Um, why?" he asked the figure.

Hands lifted and the human pushed the hood off its head, showing a gorgeous woman's face and shining blonde hair. She smiled reassuringly at the kids. "Because I want to ask your mother's help," she answered.

Dustin looked back at his siblings and nodded. "But if you try anything," he warned the woman, "Mommy and Daddy are both real good fighters!"

She just smiled wider and nodded. "Would you like a ride there?" she asked them, sweeping a graceful arm back to gesture how large the horse she rode was. "Smithy is very strong."

All three of them shook their heads. "No thank you," they answered in unison. Still acting as one, they spun around and started a run back towards their home.

The woman kicked Smithy into a quick walk as Puss hopped off his head and settled in the woman's lap with a grateful purr. "Senorita," he said, "you are very much comfortable."

"Am I?" she asked, blushing a little. She scratched him under his chin and looked up in time to see the path ended into a sloping grassy bank which led to a swamp. She looked down at the swamp and makeshift house with interest as two adult ogres came outside.

The three children had been calling for their parents and now ran behind them.

"What is this?" Fiona laughed. Dustin pointed up to the woman on her horse.

"A human?" Shrek asked and pointedly put his fists on his sides. "Well, well."

"Be courteous," Fiona told him under her breath. "There's no reason to scare the woman."

"Senor," Puss called, bounding off the horse and down to the ogre family as Smithy took steps down to the dirt front yard. "This is the Princess Aurora," he said, his accent making her name sound long.

"Salutations," the princess told them, bowing her head graciously.

Fiona smiled. "It's not often we have visitors," she started. "Pardon my asking, but does your horse speak?"

"Smithy?" Aurora answered, and giggled. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, why don't you come down from there and come inside?" Fiona asked her, opening the door.

Aurora smiled sheepishly. She looked over at Shrek. "Would you help me down, please, sir?"

Shrek gave her a funny look and Fiona prodded him in the side. "She asked you nicely," she told him.

He sighed. "Alright, alright." Walking over to Smithy's side, he helped Aurora down, his strength making it like lifting a paper woman instead of a real one.

Once her feet were on the ground, Aurora took a step back and curtsied gracefully, thanking him for his assistance. He gave her another funny look before gesturing her towards his home with a sigh.

She patted Smithy on the neck before following Fiona's lead into the small house, the triplets sitting on the stairs and looking down on them. Fiona and Aurora both took a seat as soon as Aurora had taken off her cloak. She folded it into a small parcel and placed it on her lap.

"So," Fiona began, "what brings you here?"

"Are you the princess of Far, Far Away?" Aurora asked. "Fiona?"

"Yes, I am," Fiona replied with a nod. "Why do you ask?"

"The story of you went around my kingdom," she explained. "I heard you changed your fairy tale and made your own happily ever after."

Fiona gave a sheepish smile. "I wouldn't say it was all that," she laughed. "I just. . . fell in love."

"That simple?" Aurora began, somewhat dumbfounded. "Could you explain it better?"

Fiona shook her head. "I'm afraid that's it. I fell in love with Shrek and -- well, my fairy tale was said to end with the kiss of my True Love. Shrek is him."

Aurora looked away and thought.

"What's the matter?" Fiona asked her. "Do you have a fairy tale, too?"

"Yes," Aurora answered her. "Mine is. . . very dangerous. Already I've been attacked more than once by a witch."

"I see," Fiona replied. "How does yours go?"

"I don't know all that much," Aurora admitted. She touched a heart pendant on a choker around her neck. "This pendant holds the key to my happily ever after. It's supposed to be a locket, but only my True Love would know how to open it."

"So you need to find your True Love."

"Yes, but it's so much more complicated."

From outside, they heard Shrek groan and then Puss gave a battle cry.

"What. . ?" Fiona stood up.

"Oh, I forgot about Rosa!" Aurora said, standing and hurrying out the door.

The scene was of Shrek getting ready to attack and Puss sword fighting with a human woman. The woman was dressed in a vest, pants, poofy-sleeved shirt, knee-high boots and wristbands. Her black, wavy hair was loose, and there was a single red rose above her left ear.

"Rosa!" Aurora cried. "Please, don't fight!"

Rosa stopped instantly and sheathed her sword. She knelt in front of Aurora with a, "Yes, milady," and both Shrek and Puss glared at her.

"I'm so sorry," Aurora apologized. "Rosa is my guardian, and I'm ashamed to say I'd forgotten about her."

"She jumped out of a tree!" Shrek snapped.

"Si," Puss agreed. "If I did not know better, I'd say she too were a cat."

Aurora looked thoughtful and then giggled behind her hand. "She tries to be." Eyes on Rosa, she asked, "Why did you attack?"

"I did not," Rosa denied, standing again. "I suppose I surprised these two, but the cat went on the offensive."

Fiona gave Puss a sharp look. In turn, Puss looked down and toed the ground in a sheepish way. "Apologies," he mumbled.

Aurora sighed behind her hand and then looked over at Fiona again. "As we were saying," she began, "my fairy tale is more complicated than finding my True Love. He. . .won't be looking for me; _I _need to find _him_, and before the witch finds _me._"

"I see," Fiona replied. "And you're trying to find another way out of this story?"

Aurora nodded. "As I said, the witch has attacked me twice already, and what's worse, she has my storybook. Since I haven't read it, I don't know what's going to happen, so she has me at a disadvantage. And she seems to want to be me. . ." She shook her head. "I think she's fixing to steal my body."

"And if she does so," Rosa added, "it's game over for her kingdom. Right now, Aurora is still a princess, but leader as the last of her royal bloodline. She has absolute power of her guards and people, which means if the witch manages to take over her body and end her fairy tale, there's no way for her to fix things."

Fiona gave Aurora a worried look. "I-I'm sorry, that sounds so horrible. . ." She paused to think, looking off to the side, before looking back with a determined expression.

"Oh, no," Shrek moaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Aha!" Puss cried, drawing his sword and slicing through the air.

And then Fiona said, "I'll help you all I can, I promise."

"This can't end well," Shrek sighed, looking defeated.

Less than an hour later found Fiona and Shrek climbing inside their trademark onion carriage, a dwarf at the reigns, their three children riding in the back with Puss. Aurora and Rosa both sat upon the horse Smithy, and they set off, riding side-by-side.

"So," Puss began, sizing up Rosa with a cat grin, "you seem to be a-speaking my language."

In reply, Rosa pointedly told him that he "wasn't her type" in Spanish.

He looked hurt, but not defeated.

At the same time, Fiona looked at Aurora from out of the window. "Do you have a destination in mind?" she asked.

Aurora shook her head. "I have a magic paper which tells me hints in rhyme, and so far it has warned me about danger, and told me that if I keep searching, I will find my True Love." She looked down at Fiona with a smile. "I think I have more of a chance now at finding him, but it seems my journey is the point of my story -- not the destination."

"Then let's head to Far Far Away," Fiona suggested. "I'm sure King Arthur has ways of helping us."

"Great, Artie," Shrek said with false enthusiasm.

"Uncle Artie?" the triplets cried. They hadn't seem him in a great while, and were looking forward to it. They began talking to each other about what they were going to talk to him about.

"I haven't met him," Aurora admitted, "though I've wanted to."

"He's very nice," Fiona assured her. "These days he's always wanting to help."

"And last year he found a sword," Shrek replied sarcastically, "that made him king of England too."

"Hmm." Aurora looked down at her hands for a few moments before saying, "It would sound as though he has a lot to do. I do not think it a good idea to bother him."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Fiona laughed. "He has a round table of Knights to help him rule."

"Something like a council?" Rosa asked.

"Except that they're all swordsmen, yes," Fiona agreed.

"Indeed," Puss agreed, drawing his sword, "and I have taught them all a thing or two." He slashed and posed, laughing all the while.

Rosa rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "I imagine they were very. . ._thankful for your help."_

"_Please, Rosa," Aurora said quietly, "do not be rude. I know Puss has something of a. . .large ego, but we mustn't anger anyone."_

_Rosa nodded. "Si, princess."_

"_Thank you."_

"_I also have something of a. . ." Puss started, "excellent hearing." He tapped Shrek on the shoulder. "Do you think that I have a large ego?" he asked._

"_Bigger than me," Shrek replied, a little too harshly._

"_But I make up for it in being cute, no?" Puss went on, standing up straight._

"_No."_

_Puss frowned and jumped from the carriage to the horse, climbing up and onto Aurora's lap. He gave her his large-eyed look, and Aurora melted instantly. Rosa resisted admirably, but gave a smile despite herself. _

"_Hey, mother," Randy said, poking his head inside the back window, "watch this!"_

_Fiona watched, laughing as the triplets pulled a stunt that put Randy on Dustin's shoulders and Sarah up top, then all three clapped their hands and rolled off each other and into the carriage through the window. They tumbled onto the floor with squeals of laughter, and Fiona and Shrek smiled as they pulled their children apart and sat them right-side up._

"_How do you think Donkey and Dragon are doing?" Fiona asked her husband, thinking of them._

_Shrek gave a shrug. "I imagine having some trouble with their little fireballs."_

"_I meant on their vacation," she replied firmly. "Do you suppose they've had enough of seaside views and trees yet?"_

"_Look, we left them a note," he tried to reason. "If they come back and we haven't returned, they'll know why."_

"_But you know how Donkey is; he's going to hate that we went on another adventure without him."_

"_With any luck, he'll be having enough trouble with his kids that he won't care."_

"_Shrek!"_

"_What?" he asked, exasperated. "Hasn't he proven that we can't get away from him?"_

"_That's not a nice way to talk about him, and you know it."_

_Aurora intervened before the argument could get out of hand. "Donkey, Dragon, and their kids?"_

"_Oh," Fiona started, surprised. "I'm sorry, I should explain." _

_Though it took more than a few hours, Fiona told the story of her fairy tale, going on to mention Prince Charming and the Happily Ever After potion, and finally to finding King Arthur. By the end, the triplets -- who had been sitting aptly and listening -- were now asleep on their parents, and even Shrek was dozing off. _

"_That. . .is a very large, very complicated fairy tale," Aurora said at the end, stunned. "I cannot imagine how skilled you all must be to have survived and won."_

_Fiona shrugged. "I never thought about it like that, but I guess it is kind of unbelievable."_

"_It is getting dark, mistress," Rosa stated, watching as the sky darkened behind them and stars began to show._

_Aurora's hands tightened on the reigns. "Night," she said, "is when I am in the most danger. I tend to hide; I cannot escape the witch's familiar at night, only during the day."_

"_Then maybe we should stop for the night," Fiona suggested, worried._

_Aurora shook her head. "No, we cannot this time. Not yet. There is no town nearby."_

"_You stay at towns?"_

"_I must; neither witch nor familiar can enter towns or villages."_

"_Do you know why?"_

_Aurora shook her head. "I believe she fears being judged by townsfolk, or ran out of town. From what I know, she is very ugly, and hates it enough that she does not enter dwelling places."_

"_I see. Should we ride faster?"_

"_At this pace, how long would it take to enter a town?"_

"_Three hours."_

_Aurora shivered and put her hood over her head. "I will not cause the horses harm. We will continue at this pace."_

"_But doesn't it put you in danger?"_

"_I am here to protect her," Rosa answered. She reached around Aurora and grasped the reigns, a secure hold that promised -- if weakly -- that Aurora wouldn't simply disappear. "Vaminos, si?"_

"_No," Aurora argued. _

"_I will aid you," Puss announced, standing at attention on Aurora's lap. "With senorita Rosa and senor Puss, no one shall touch you, Princess!" _

_Aurora smiled and scratched under Puss' chin, making him purr lovingly. "Gracias," she answered._

"_Do you know Spanish too?" Fiona asked, curious._

_Aurora shook her head. "I pick up a few words and things from Rosa, but I do not know the entire language."_

_Behind them, the sun disappeared completely, and then a loud bird of prey's shriek rang out. Aurora jumped in fright and in response Rosa scooted an inch closer. _

"_What was that?" Fiona wondered aloud. Shrek gave a snore, fully asleep by now._

"_The witch's familiar is a hawk," Rosa answered. "It will chase us throughout the night."_

"_A hawk is a bird," Puss said, nodding to himself. "I could easily feast upon it."_

"_It is a red hawk," Rosa argued, "larger than an eagle, with one gray eye and one green one. Its feathers are tattered and it's constantly molting, yet it refuses to die. I have deterred it many times, I have broken its wing, and I have run it through, but still it comes back every night."_

_Puss didn't seem so sure of himself all of a sudden, and he sat back down. "I think. . .I shall stay vigilant from here, yes?"_

_Nobody answered him, senses alert for that particular hawk._


End file.
